Security Resources and Tips

In my first supervisory role many years ago, I was delighted to learn that generally my subordinates were anxious to do the right thing and only needed clear communication of my expectations to diligently go in the direction of the organization’s vision. I’ve now seen that behavior repeatedly throughout my career. People generally want to do the right thing. So I ask you, on the issue of workplace violence, have you clearly communicated your expectations that employees report threatening behavior? Have you clearly communicated what behaviors are possible...

The effective utilization of metrics to manage your security department and strategically report accomplishments is one of the fastest growing areas of interest among Chief Security Officers. Security practitioners in the area of IT security are intimately familiar with the practice and have a broad array of statistical data from which to select to develop powerful reporting dashboards that clearly demonstrate the performance and value of the program. Those of us who exist in the world of physical security struggle to find meaningful measurements that...

“Rogue cop, fugitive officer, cop killer”; all words used in describing the hunt for former Los Angeles Police Department Officer Christopher Dorner, wanted for the ambush killings of three people, one a Riverside, CA police officer. Much of the media coverage has been committed to the lengthy online social media posting by Dorner prior to his attacks laying out the events that caused him to take his chosen actions to right his perceived wrongs. The media refer to the document as the “manifesto”. In all...

For most of us in the United States, we live a relatively secure existence going about our daily business without thinking of our personal security. We spend our day safe at work, our homes are left safely vacant while we are away and our children are safe in school. Consequently, we tend to deal with issues at hand giving little or no thought to our security. In many parts of the world such as the Middle East, Africa and some parts of Mexico people are living in high-risk...

To those of you who have lived in a coastal area as an advancing hurricane takes aim at your community, you know the store shelves are bare 48 hours before the storm is set to arrive, people are lined up at service stations for fuel and the hardware store is sold out of plywood and tape. It's inevitable, it always happens. Even people who live in hurricane-prone areas wait until they know the storm is coming to make preparations. We all know that bad things...

The Broken Window Theory, made famous by Rudy Giuliani in his book Leadership, theorizes that maintaining and monitoring urban environments in a well-ordered condition may stop further vandalism and escalation into more serious crime. It was developed by Social Scientists James Q. Wilson and George L. Kelling and was first employed in the New York Transit System when crime was rampant in the system with routine muggings, robberies and assaults. In order to gain control of the system, MTA officers aggressively pursued all criminal activities...